Best waves for years at Snappers and theres no one out??? 6-8 foot barrels and not a soul in sight... Its funny how things turn out now isnt it !!
We all know that most of us love Snappers even at the worst of times and some of you even get a little touchy amongst the crowd... but where was everyone at high tide on wednesday when Snappers hid from the wind under the high tide shadow of the Boulder Bank....
* photos courtesy of Raefe Murray, at least someones on the ball !!
Homegrown clothing company "Wet Kiwi" have decided to come onboard and sponsor the Nelson Boardriders Club which is a blessing in disguise as we have been toying with the idea of a club t-shirt/apparel range for a while but were looking for a design thats simple and eye-catching.... so for those of you with that flare for design and graphics we are looking for a Nelson Boardriders t-shirt design with the successful designer of course recieving a free T!!! Send your entries in a.s.a.p as were keen to get this puppy rolling and of course these t-shirts will be for members only!!!
Once again the topic above raises its ugly head as crowd concentrations over the last swell saw some heated moments out at Snappers. I got told to mention it on this blog so here are some attempts to water everything down.
Basically if you see more than a dozen people in the water and there are only 2-3 wave sets then if you do the maths its not hard to work out that waves are gonna be pretty hard to come by. Sure everyone has the right to surf where they wanna surf but just remember some table manners. There are always other spots breaking when Snappers is on including the first carpark, the Glen and even some other mysto spots if your willing to search. When Snappers is really on, then you will see the more skilled come out to play and if your not that competent on a board then perhaps you should be honest with yourself and surf within your capabilties either sitting wide or surfing elsewhere. Dropping in is an absolute no-no... although if you are on the inside and you see someone looking like they are going to drop in then give out a shout and yell "yep" cos if you're on the inside its your wave (unless you paddled out inside of everyone wink wink nudge nudge).No point crying someone dropped in if you didnt call them off the wave when they attempted it... Share the wealth too, you dont turn up to a bbq and put all the food in the boot of your car and drive home now do you....!! (above): I mean seriously, where else does this happen??....
Snappers has always, and will always be a frustrating place to surf when its perfect as it just breaks in one place and only shifts slightly. If you blatantly, naievely and/or ignorantly disobey the basic ground rules of Surfing then you most likely will find yourself in a heated situation and at the end of the day thats not why we're out there is it>??
Now sit back and check this clip from 6 or 7 years ago when it WASN"T less crowded!
*(please note):This post was requested by concerned members of our surfing community and is by no means my own personal view or means of "giving instructions" (Pun intended Pete!!) 90% of the time I score good waves with just one or two others , so it is possible...
Ive got stacks of photos flooding in from the last few days so please visit the "photos" page and check out the amazing work of Bill Evans and Andy Mac including this beauty of Rabbit Island below....
I could go on and on about the last few days events but here is a quickfire spill...
Saturday saw the first signs of the Cyclone(s) swell with a 2ft pulse around midday followed up on sunday by a more solid 3ft which ran into monday morning before late in the morning an explosive pulse saw the swell kick to a solid 6ft with Bruce Wilson , Russell Bruce, Rich Barry, Jeremy Pooley and Keni just to name a few sliding down into some bombas with both Russ and Theo breaking their boards...."They dont call it Snappers for nothing".
(above):Russ Bruce, building speed.....
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The next morning saw a mediocre 2-4ft what seemed like leftover swell before a "re-boot"in swell saw it jack once again to a steamy glassy 4-5ft with Snappers basically as good as it gets and although the crowd was slim through the middle of the day with myself, Glen Richardson, Gavin Stones, Liam buttner, Jimmy mac and Marco all reaping the rewards, the crowd quickly swelled with Shawry and Ralph from Westport making a guest appearance with Shawry throwing himself out of some heaving lips on his longboard and sticking them much to the amazement of the crew.Action packed highlights included Take-San and Olin pilchers collision and Jimmy Mac's accidental drop-in on Keni leaving him fearing for his like ...hah... Paulo "Parcero" Devia even managed to snag a couple in the morning keeping it native with some solid gaffs
(above): "Frothy"Joe Leeper,, chucking hunks!!
Later that afternoon it was rumoured 2 guys surfed an indo-esque like Cable Bay to themselves at a totally playful yet solid 3ft, (head high).
Then this morning came and a lucky few guys scored some amazing tubes and a mystery guy turned up and watched the boys getting brutal shacks before turning around and walking briskly back to the carpark with tail between his legs ,,,,, you know who you are but we dont !!
boys scoring this mornings goods including Marcus Roebuck, Paul Chop-Chop, Jeremy Pooley, Ross Burdon, Ben Robertson and Bruce Wilson .
Anyhow enjoy the photos and get ready for some more tropical nonsense in a week or so!!
*All photos courtesy of Dan Gregory. Awesome shots mate!!! Sicko.
Although the venue made a late move to Sandy Bay in Kaikoura leaving some people in the lurch as a lot had decided not to travel to Blenheim in the first place as it was forecast to be flat. The show rolled on with results below and a full story to follow.
Results: Open Men .1st place Richard Norton2nd James Spence 3rd Levi Maxwell 4th Bryan Bailey ...Under 20's 1st Jackson Gregory (Nelson Boardrider)2nd Mike Lindstrom 3rd Tarik Tekin 4th Marco Edwards :Best wave of the day went to Richard Norton.
(above): Even if your parked at the superbank on the goldy during a cyclone swell, you still know where your heart lies. Brett Thompson, trying to check "the real"Snappers through his binoculars.
Gday everyone, you all know whats coming Lets do this.
